Index finger strengthening
What are some good index finger excercises I can do to make barre chords less of a pain? Specifically the lower half that would cover the G string.
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Doing barre chords - increases strength and technique (if you carefully consider what you are doing) all at once.
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Index finger strengthening
Bruce Lee performed push-ups using his fingertips. That should help.
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Practice, practice and more practice.
To strengthen any muscle in your body for a specific task, exercise it doing that task. At the same time you will improve your muscle position memory for chords and your playing skills. |
Hey Rockguy,
Here's what I did years ago--it was the old timey way. Practice the full barre with the force of your other three fingers backing up your index. Make sure that each note frets cleanly. You'll get a sense of where your thumb has to be for an effective clamp. Devote some of your practice time each day to this. When it feels right, then practice the full barre with just index, middle, and ring. Then, just index and middle. Then, just index. It worked for me. |
I am no expert but it seems to me that being able to play a barre chord is much more a function of overall grip strength than just index finger strength.
If so, I would think that any of those grip-handle-squeezy-things (a technical term) would do the job. Or you could just not play barre chords - I try not to. It's fun finding alternate voicings and so on. Of course I am a 95% fingerstyle player so, YMMV. |
This is something I invented years ago for myself......
I take a new, thick rubber band and wrap it around my fingers and open it up like a tulip and close for 50-100 reps....I then progress to 2 or 3 Rubber Bands |
The biggest thing for me when playing barre chords is placement of the index more than strength. You have to find the right spot where the strings are not lining up with one of your finger creases, especially the G string. The sweet spot will also change as you move up the fretboard. Like others have said, The best practice/strengthening is to just keep playing the barre chords.
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I agree with just practicing the task at hand. For what it's worth, I remember finding them impossible when I began playing. It's a long time ago but I think it took me a year or two to be able to nail them cleanly and efficiently.
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